Percy Jackson & the Heart of the Universe
by JustinChristopherBarrett
Summary: x-Official sequel to Percy Jackson & the Doors of Death. Back from being trapped in the Doors of Death, Percy must find out the connection between himself, the Old Gods, the Descendants of Kronos and the infamous Doors of Death. Somehow they all intertwine with one another, but will Percy be able to live long enough to find out how? Read and review.
1. Chaos & Colors

**A/N: For the longest time, it seems as if I had been on an unannounced hiatus. And in a way, I was. I finished _Percy Jackson & the Doors of Death_, started the sequel to it and _Damien Shade: Origins_ and just kind of vanished off of the face of the Earth. I'm taking down the sequel that I started, as this is the official sequel. And I'm taking down Origins so I can restart it and make it much, much better. Only mere days ago I rediscovered this site and my account, remembering all of the good things people had to say about my stories. So I felt as if it was my obligation to finish this chapter of Percy Jackson's life for you all. And if I ever, ever start to slack like I did back when Doors of Death was still going on, PM me or message me on my Facebook (Facebook link is in my 'About Me' on my profile, if you need it.). I'm back, and I hope you enjoy this introductory chapter to Percy Jackson & the Heart of the Universe. Read and review, I can't wait to hear what you have to say.**

* * *

**Chapter One:  
****Chaos & Colors**

* * *

"Open your heart, open your mind,  
To a new world, to a new world.  
Spread out your wings and learn to fly,  
To a new world, to a new world."

Asking Alexandria- Run Free

* * *

**Point of View:  
****Percy Jackson**

I couldn't remember what color my eyes were.

I knew they were green. But the _word_ green was a lot different than the _color_ green. Words you can't forget. From the first time you hear it to the last time, you never forget a word. It's there for good. Once you know it, it's in your mind's eye, your mind's dictionary, and you can never, _ever_ burn that our of your brain.

But colors are different. Colors are there for the moment. Painted onto an empty canvas to make it not so empty. Illuminating the sky in brilliant blues. Burning the fires in majestic reds. Adding life to everything it touches, everything it blesses. Every color you can imagine, shot out from a prism. They're there while you can see them, and that's it. Once you're thrown in the darkness, your recollection of the colors slowly fades. It dims. You lose sight of what you once thought you could never find yourself losing. You usually _always_ see color, so you never forget it. But I have.

I've forgotten.

I've been thrown in the darkness.

Everything around me was bathed in black, white, and every shade of grey in-between. No splotch of color anywhere. And when I say _anywhere_, I don't mean to give you the impression that I see all that much. I've been seeing the same dull, un-exciting chamber for the last year and a half. At least, a year and a half is what I've counted. After awhile you kind of start to lose track of the days, lose track of your mind, lose track of your life.

Most people take that for granted, the ability to remember. Then again, _most people_ haven't gone through what I've been through.

Now where do I begin?

I could start off when I twelve years old and I discovered that I was the son of one of the Big Three Greek gods, Poseidon. How my whole world was pulled out from under my feet and held over my head to taunt me? How I fought countless monsters up until I was sixteen years old when the Great Prophecy that was revolved around me was supposed to come into play. How I battled the evil Titan lord Kronos, and somehow won. But for some reason I have the feeling that you all already know that, somehow.

No, where I'm going to start defines just how terrible my luck really is; a _second _Great Prophecy was revealed to relove around me. A _second_ doomsday was thrown into my hands. A _second_ god was awakened inside me. And most of all, I was pitted against the infamous Titan Lord Kronos for the _second_ time. Maybe you can tell, but the universe doesn't favor me all that much.

I was revealed to be one of the twelves Descendants of Kronos. There's not much I can tell you about them, but I can tell you that the only two of us that _weren't_ psychotic evil freaks were me and the mysterious Damien Shade. I don't know Damien Shade very well, either. I just know that he came to be one of my greatest allies in this battle. Oh...and he's the son of Kronos. Big bomb dropped there, huh? He helped me defeat Kronos again this time around. Talk about father-son fueds, huh? I doubt that I could have done it without him. Well, without _him_ and the other god that runs through my veins...

The Old God. He's been a part of me since I was born, but I haven't known about him until now. I don't know much about him, either. Hades, it seems that I don't know a damn thing about any of the things that revolve around me. There's another Old God, and he lies within Damien. Figures, right? Two allies, both coincidentally paired with one another, both coincidentally reborn versions of the Old Gods.

From what Damien tells me, the Old Gods were the first intelligent life in our universe. There were only two of them, Damien and I, and we fought for ownership of the universe. He explains to me that I won, apparently. Though I don't know exactly what I did with the universe. That's yet to be told. Eventually they both disappeared, I suppose, like most gods eventually do. And here we are. Reborn into two mortal boys. Well, two HALF mortal boys. For what reason, I'm not exactly sure yet. But I know I'll be damned to find out as soon as I found my way out of these Doors of Death.

Yeah, the Doors of Death. Somehow they connect all of the weird things that had happened to me in recent years. They worked through the Descendants of Kronos, so I guess they worked through _me_, and the rising suspiscion that they were somehow involved with the Old Gods that lay inside Damien and I burned at the edges of my mind day by day.

I found myself trapped here after I stopped time to prevent the Doors of Death from continuing to kill Damien and I. That is, before I pushed Damien through one of his dark portals out of here. No way in Hades I would damn _both_ of us to this eternal Hell. Anyways, the Doors of Death were put out of business, at least for now.

And I was at the center of it all.

Percy Jackson, Martyr of the Universe.

* * *

I traced my hands along the craggy, cracked walls of the cavern. I found that there's nothing better to do in this almost-hell-hole than to count the cracks in the wall. I always get up to about fifteen-thousand, lose my train of thought, look from one crack to the other million or so to try to regain my place, and end up starting over because I forgot where I was. As you can see, I've been leading a pretty damn exciting life, as of late. No, I couldn't just be a normal teenager and get my jollies and regrets from partying and over-drinking. I've got to get my kicks from saving the world and counting cracks on the walls of the Doors that had attempted to end my life at multiple points during my year and a half stay.

Wow, looking back at that, I'm really starting to take notice of how truly screwed up my life is. And it only gets screwier.

Yeah, you heard that right, the Doors _attacked_ me. Multiple times. They have this nasty little habit of randomly opening up and spewing spiked tentacles at me. And then I always ended up using my Descendant powers inherited by Kronos himself to stop time to prevent the Doors from continuing to attack me. So I suppose that I've become the Door's keeper. It's sad, really. How many times can you say that your life has been threatened by a pair of goddamn doors? Probably not nearly as many as me.

Anger welled up inside me. Why should _I_ be the one to be stuck here? Why was it _my_ responsibility to control these damn Doors? Why did _I _have to be the hero all the time? All of these thoughts rushed back-and-forth inside my head, knocking around my brain like hammers. It's weird. It's like the universe chooses certain people to hold the weight of the world. Certain people to rise up in the darkness and shed some light. And most of the time, I didn't really mind being the light. It gave me a sense of completion, coming full circle, like I was doing something that only I could do. It felt great, on my good days. But lately things have been different. I've learned that being the light doesn't come without sacrifice. And a lot of it.

Sacrifices needed to be made.

And they were.

I would have sat there, lost in thought forever, if something odd, odd even for someone like _me_, happened.

The Doors of Death cracked open.

And there stood a man.

He was the only thing in color in the whole damn place. He wore a black trench coat that flowed all the way down to his ankles. Underneath that was a dark purple collared dress shirt, tucked neatly into his tight black pants. His feet were garbed in jet black boots, silver buckles on the side of each of the two. He was a little taller than I was, also looking a tad bit older than myself. His hair ran to a little above his shoulders, not very long, shaped around his head. He looked to groomed and suave to find himself in a place like this. It made me look down at myself in disgust, seeming as I've been in the same exact clothes for a little more than a year and a half.

But his eyes. His eyes are what stood out the most about him. They were yellow. Bright yellow. Not gold like Kronos' eyes were, but legitimately _yellow_. They were the first colors I had seen in what seemed like ages, and I couldn't of been happier...

Until realization hit me that there was _another person_ here. Another human being besides myself. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. So I just stared at him and bent my legs, putting myself in the position to attack if I had to. After all this time, I couldn't be sure on who was my friend or foe. I could never be sure.

After what seemed like hours of silence, but was probably no more than twenty-five seconds or so, the man spoke. "If you want to escape these Doors, Perseus Jackson, than you would be wise to follow me."

"But what about the Doors of Death?" I spat back at him with unnecessary venom in my voice. "I can't just _leave_ them. Whatever they're supposed to do, I can't let them do it."

"You're an idiot." He snapped back.

I had no idea what to say back to that. There was no proper response that I could give him, nothing witty like I usually come up with. Just...nothing.

All I could let out was a real sophisticated, "Uhhh...why?"

"Because you think that by staying here, you're helping everyone in our world. But in all reality you're just damning us all to a worse fate than we would go through if you never chose to stay here in the first place." His words were strong and full of meaning, but the way he said them were lazily, as if he didn't care. Monotone was the word for it, I believe.

I thought about what he was saying, and I couldn't grasp my mind around it. What did he mean? I thought that I was doing something noble. Something to protect all of the people I love and the countless innocents that I didn't even know.

"Whatever these Doors were made to do, they're going to do it whether or not you stall for time. Cause that's all you're doing, Percy; stalling. And that's it. It's only a matter of time before these Doors kill you. Before they get the best of you and you can't find the strength to defend yourself? And then what, huh? You'd just _die_ here. And no one would know it. No one you love. No one you hate. No one. What I'm trying to say is that you're the best hope we have against _this _thing, and if you let yourself die here, we will have _no_ hope whatsoever."

"So you want me to just leave and let these things do whatever it is they're trying to do?" I asked, so many possibilities running through my head.

"They're going to eventually defeat you and do whatever they want anyways, so yes, that's exactly what I want you to do. At least this way you have a slim chance of finding the way to win this fight, as you have won every fight before this." He said, again with that monotone tone of voice.

"Why should I trust you?" I questioned. "Why should I believe that you're not just another enemy? That I won't be killed the second that I step through that door with you?"

"You have no reason to trust me, but I imagine anything is better than being in this hellhole for the rest of your sad life." He answered.

I thought about what he said, running the possibilities through my mind. He was right. Sooner or later, something would have to give. And better I fight from the outside than to just damn myself to an eternity of fighting a pair of freaking doors.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. It felt like the most hopeful breath of air I had taken in in a long time. "I'm with you, whoever you are." I said.

I walked past him, into the infinite darkness of the Doors of Death. I could sense him walking beside me. The Doors closed almost silently behind us, only giving us forward to go.

I'm coming home.

World, be ready.


	2. Home Is Where the Heart Is

**Chapter Two:  
****Home Is Where the Heart Is**

* * *

"I know, the only words that you have for me,  
Are give up and get out.  
You like to think, that we've been beaten.  
But we're here to stay, forever and always."

Motionless In White- Devil's Night

* * *

**Point of View:  
****Percy Jackson**

It's like the world gave me a hint of color back, and ripped it away just as fast as it came. The universe has a nasty little habit of being cruel like that. My whole teenage life is a prime example of that. All I could see was darkness as I walked forward through the Doors of Death. No color. No nothing. Just blackness. But oddly enough, I wasn't scared. Most people would feel some sort of feel, walking into darkness, not knowing just what is ahead of you. My heart should be beating out of my chest right now, but I couldn't feel any sensation like that coming on. I think it had to do with the fact that there wasn't much that could scare me anymore. Anything was better than being trapped in the Doors of Death, just waiting for them to one day take my life. It had my life, but I stole it back.

Scratch that; you can't steal what was rightfully yours.

And my life was mine again.

At least for the time being.

"So where are we walking to here?" I asked the figure that led me here, that gave me an escape from the Doors. I still wasn't sure whether or not I should be wary or not. It seemed like he was my ally, but he had this weird aura about him. Like he could snap and be a totally different person in a matter of a second. I decided to keep my guard up. Better safe than sorry.

"Well, you could keep walking for as long as you want to, Percy, but it wouldn't do you any good." He replied. I hated the way he said my name. It sounded like a parent correcting his kid. I didn't like it; I had enough daddy problems on my own already. "There's nothing in here, but at the same time everything is here."

"You're really starting to lose me here, you know that?" I said, trying to find a glimmer of light in the infinite darkness. Maybe it'll surprise you, but I didn't find any. Sad face. "What do mean by that? About there being nothing but everything here? It just doesn't make sense."

I couldn't see him, but I could tell that his eyes were locked on me. I just got that feeling. "It makes more sense than you think, if you just let go of your mortal mind. Don't think of this from a mortal standpoint. You're no mere mortal, Percy, there's more to you than that. You just have to unlock it."

I had the rising suspicion that he was referring to the Old God that slept inside of me, biding its time until I gave it its moment to reign again. But I wouldn't point that out. I would find out how much he knew before I tell him anything new.

"So what do we do? How do we find this 'everything' that you're speaking of?" I questioned, keeping my tone of voice cool and collected as to not seem as nervous as I really was. "How do we get out of here?"

"I think you secretly know the answer to that...Old God." He said, taking on a firm tone. So he did know about _him_. Somehow that didn't surprise me. You learn to start to expect the unexpected when you live a life like mine.

"You sure seem to know a lot about me, yet I don't even know your name, no less how you even know who I am or that I exist." I stated, getting a little annoyed that he seemed to know so much and I knew no more than I did when I first got into this whole mess.

"Time will tell that, young Perseus." I don't know why he was referring to me as '_young Perseus_' seeing as he didn't seem all that much older than myself. His words seemed more aged than his body, though, as if he possessed one of the oldest souls in the universe. For all I knew, he did. I've seen weirder things happen, no doubt. Something was familiar about him, something that I couldn't really place. "First, you must get us out of here. I could easily do it myself, as I did to get myself here in the first place, but I'd rather you do it. The sooner you learn to control your powers, the better."

"So I assume you mean I should use my Old God abilities? I mean, I guess that would make sense." I replied.

"Ah, so I see that you're not as dense as I may at first perceive. Good to know that the savior of the world isn't a complete and utter idiot." I hated the way he talked to me, as if I was just a hindrance in his way.

"You know, you don't have to treat me like that. I didn't ask for you to come and get me out of there. I could have found my own way out, given the right time-frame." I claimed, anger thick in my voice.

And then he did the one thing I hadn't expected him to do; he laughed. "Oh please, Percy. You weren't even looking for a way out until I came in. You would have just sat there and counted cracks on the wall for the rest of your pathetic existence if it wasn't for me. You should be kissing my feet where they stand, in my honest opinion. I freed you, so don't confuse where your loyalties lay."

I was speechless. I had no idea what to say to that, so I decided to do more than speaking could ever do; I took action.

I let my Old God powers run freely through my veins, feeling the energy spread throughout me. The faint, glowing purple marks that came with the powers spread across my body, intertwining around my limbs, providing at least some sort of light in the never-ending blackness. I felt my eyes turn purple, giving a faint tint of purple in my sights. I hadn't fully let out this power in a long time. It felt like I was unstoppable, like no one ever had any hopes whatsoever of bringing me down. It felt good. _Too_ good.

"A lot to bear, correct, Perseus"? He claimed, thew purple light from my marks casting shadows in certain parts of his face. Ugh, creepy. "Power can be addicting, just like any drug. Only worse, I would say. Only the best can stop themselves from being power hungry, from being corrupt. Let me ask you, Percy, are you one of the best?"

I wanted to immediately say yes, but I wasn't so sure of myself. I felt like I had less control of these powers than I did a year and a half ago, like they were dull but now they're fully awake, it's abilities at full-scale. It was a lot to handle, and I wasn't sure if I could. "I don't know how to answer that..."

"No one ever does," He said. "No one ever does..."

I decided to change the subject, interrupting the somehow awkward silence. "Well, teach me how to get out of here. I'm sick of seeing nothing but you're shadowed face."

A small smile played across his lips. I suppose he wasn't totally humorless after all. "Very well, I will teach you, though it isn't something that can be necessarily taught. Just use your mind, use your powers. Where do you want to go, Percy? Anywhere in the world, you name it. Just focus, just focus..."

I closed my eyes and thought of all the places I could see myself being. I thought of Camp Half-Blood, of my home in New York, of Annabeth and all of my friends waiting for me to return. But I couldn't go there. Not first. I needed to do something first.

"I want to see Damien Shade." I said.

Another smile danced across his lips, a bigger one than before. Somehow I knew he would know who Damien was. My suspicions were rising about who this man really was. Last time I saw him, he looked much, much older than he does now. But he was the same person, there was no doubt in my mind.

"You're Damien's Guardian. You're..." I swallowed hard, struggling to slip the next two words out of my lips. "_my father_."

All got silent. I suppose that he wasn't expecting me to figure it out so easily, or he just didn't know what to say. I know the feeling. "Yes, Percy..." he started. "I am Damien's Guardian, _and_ you're father. I am that man. The same man that you spat at with hatred a year and a half ago. Though I've used my magic to appear younger, I am the same person. I am your creator."

I didn't know if I should attack him, or scream at him, or just plain out breakdown and cry. I considered all three, but did none of the above. Instead, I just bit my tongue and buried my emotions further down. "Let's just go see Damien." I said.

"Yes, Percy..." he said, growing even more silent by the second. I didn't even need him to tell me what to do next. I closed my eyes and imagined Damien Shade in all of his everlasting darkness. Of my brother Old God. Of my new-found ally.

And I felt myself disappear.

Damien, here I come.

* * *

**Point of View:  
****Annabeth Chase**

I woke up with the strangest feeling.

I couldn't place what is was, or why I was feeling it, but I knew something was happening. It was like that feeling you got during the calm before the storm. Like you felt the energy in the air. There was energy in the air, all right, but it definitely had nothing to do with any thunderstorm. Instantly my thoughts went to one thing and one thing only; Percy.

I don't know if it was just me getting my hopes up or not, cause for the past year and a half I woke up every single night thinking that Percy was there with me, laying right by my side. But tonight was different. Tonight was more than hopes. There was something in the air, something that just told me that something was happening. Something big.

I got out of bed and slid my feet into the pair of slippers that laid at my bedside. I grabbed my robe from the bedpost and wrapped it around my body, shivers running down my spine from the cool autumn air. I walked out of my cabin, careful not to wake up the rest of the children of Athena, and started to pace towards the beach, hoping to the Gods that the harpies wouldn't realize I was out here. They had an obligation to do unspeakable things to you if they found you out after curfew, apparently. I never took the risk to find out.

Until tonight, that is.

The sky was a brilliant midnight blue, thin whisks of gray clouds here and there. I don't know if it was just me or not, but the stars seemed to shine so much brighter tonight, as if the universe was trying to tell me something. I doubt that it was just hopeful thinking. Tonight was more than hope. Tonight was reality. I could feel it.

Once I got to the beach, I took off my slippers, letting my feet get cool against the moon-chilled sand. It looked white in the moonlight, casting a surreal feeling over the waters and sands. I walked towards the ocean, ignoring the sounds of other campers rising from their beds in the camp behind me, lights turning on in search of me. I didn't care. There was more to tonight than consequences. Consequences could wait, this couldn't.

I walked into the ocean until the waters came up to my thighs. I looked up into the sky, my eyes shining right along with the moon. I could swear that two of the biggest, shiniest stars in the sky were green, the color of Percy's eyes. The eyes that I missed. The eyes that I needed. The eyes that I loved.

"Percy, come home." She whispered, losing her train of thoughts in the only eyes that were as calming and as beautiful as the sea.

* * *

**A/N: Just cause I've been on such a long hiatus, I've decided to post the second chapter in the same day as the first. Sorry that most of it was dialogue, but I'm really trying to build up the plot on this one. I'm working on the third chapter as we speak, so if things go as planned, it should be up by sometime tomorrow. Take into consideration that I have school to think of, so don't be too impatient. I hope you all like what I wrote. Please read and review, and let everyone you know about this story if you support me. Also, if you haven't read '_Percy Jackson & the Doors of Death_' I would advise you do that before continuing this story. **


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